CKinnard wrote:One of the main reasons I'd consider disc brakes is to accommodate wider tires >28mm.
I don't know of any side pull brakes that take them.
You need to get out more.
Even the OMG-buy-this-now-and-change-your-life cycling sites have tech shots from Paris-Roubaix every year showing 30mm or similar tyres with rim brakes. Usually side pulls but occasionally something else. Scroll back a few years for some real fun - cantis were popular a while back.
CKinnard wrote:I presume some center pull brakes would. What's everyone's view/experience with rim brakes for wider tires?
Quality centre pull calipers, with braze on mounts, are the
ne plus ultra of rim brakes (if you look carefully you can even get them in hydraulic). The current "direct mount" brakes are basically centre pulls with vestigial side pull cable attachments. Pretty much the same as a
Dia-Compe #610, but smaller.
Cantis are, on a good day, almost as good as centre pulls, but keeping them that way is a challenge as adjusting them to compensate for pad wear is an acquired skill.
Linear pull (a.k.a. MTB/Hybrid/City) brakes are the cheaper chicken, being almost as good and dead simple. IIRC Tektro do a decent short-pull (brifter compatible) set.
Both cantis and "linear pull" need forks with canti bosses braised on.
There's a dirty little secret that the industry doesn't want you to know: sidepull brakes exist with up to 95mm of reach and the ability to take 2" or larger tyres. Now you won't find them badged Dura Ace but they exist. Some (Tektro, Shimano) are pretty good, especially in the saner sizes (below 73mm).